Biopolymer arrays such as polynucleotide arrays (for example, DNA or RNA arrays), are known and are used, for example, as diagnostic or screening tools. Such arrays include regions of usually different sequence polynucleotides arranged in a predetermined configuration on a substrate. These regions (sometimes referenced as “features”) are positioned at respective locations (“addresses”) on the substrate. The arrays, when exposed to a sample, will exhibit an observed binding pattern. This binding pattern can be detected upon interrogating the array. For example all polynucleotide targets (for example, DNA) in the sample can be labeled with a suitable label (such as a fluorescent compound), and the fluorescence pattern on the array accurately observed following exposure to the sample. Assuming that the different sequence polynucleotides were correctly deposited in accordance with the predetermined configuration, then the observed binding pattern will be indicative of the presence and/or concentration of one or more polynucleotide components of the sample.
Biopolymer arrays can be fabricated by depositing previously obtained biopolymers onto a substrate, or by in situ synthesis methods. The in situ fabrication methods include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,754 for synthesizing peptide arrays, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,351 and WO 98/41531 and the references cited therein for synthesizing polynucleotide arrays. Further details of fabricating biopolymer arrays are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,266, U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,072, U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,351, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,797. Other techniques for fabricating biopolymer arrays include known light directed synthesis techniques.
In array fabrication, the probes formed at each feature is usually are expensive. Additionally, sample quantities available for testing are usually also very small and it is therefore desirable to simultaneously test the same sample against a large number of different probes on an array. These conditions make it desirable to produce arrays with large numbers of very small (for example, in the range of tens or one or two hundred microns), closely spaced features (for example many thousands of features). After the arrays are exposed to a sample and read, the array reading apparatus must be able to read such arrays with a very fine resolution (for example, in the range of five to twenty microns). This requires an array reader which may be expensive and which may take some time to read each array. On the other hand, many users will not need to occupy such a reader full-time. Thus, to reduce per user costs many different users may send their arrays for reading to a same array reader. The read results for the users different arrays can be sent to a common computer to which each user may visit and retrieve the results for their array.
The present invention recognizes that it would be desirable to provide different users who use a common biopolymer array reader, with a convenient and easy to use way of obtaining the read results for their arrays or status of the reading of their arrays.